Faith and Football

When I move to a new city, as I've done several times, I look up two things: where are the Catholic Churches and where is the Penn State Alumni Association.

Y'all -- I didn't even GO to Penn State. I went to a tiny Catholic college in Maine. I just grew up in Pennsylvania. I make a joke that it's state law to love Penn State if you grow up in PA. What really happened though is my Dad loves Penn State football and passed that love on to me.

Quick update on my beloved team, just in case you aren't hip with the jive of College Football: Penn is currently the #2 team in the country. Tomorrow is the annual White Out Game -- the biggest Home game of the year. We're facing Michigan, who last year defeated us 49 to 10 (yeah, it was rough).

I am PUMPED. I'm full of adrenaline and excitement. I can barely keep still long enough to write this. I keep doing shout-outs to St. Sebastian like, "Bro, if you can hook a girl up here, I would really appreciate it."

My social media is filled with Penn State promos and hype videos. I keep imagining being in the company of other Penn State fans tomorrow as we all wear white, shout out cheers (WE ARE… PENN STATE!), and fully engage in all that is Penn State Football. I'm going to soak up every minute of it because I love it all.

What I absolutely love the MOST about football, or sports in general really, is how much it reminds me of my Faith. When I reflect on what it means to be a Penn State fan and what it means to be a Catholic, I see so many similarities. I'm just going to highlight a few (because I could legit write a book on this topic).

WE ARE… a community.

Whenever I’m in Happy Valley (Beaver Stadium, Penn State's Home field), I'm reminded of the Catholic Mass. There are so many similarities. Whether it's the stadium or the Church, we're there for a common reason. We can often be identified by wearing certain symbols. We unite together to sing songs or participate in a call-and-response. We even have (cow) bells at Penn State football!

While we're not directly on the field or the Altar, we are vital to what's going on. What's happening on the field/Altar is just as much for us as it is for the people in the middle of the action. Because of that, we are called to actively participate in what's going on. When we do actively participate in what's going on, we get so much more out of it than if we were to just sit and do nothing.

Striving for something more.

Here's something I know for certain about tomorrow: My team will make mistakes. The QB, McSorely, is going to throw incompletes. People are going to miss tackles. The other team is going to gain yards.

Here's something else I know for certain about tomorrow: I'm going to make mistakes. My desire to follow God's Will will be incomplete. I'm going miss an opportunity to love and serve my neighbor. If my team makes too many mistakes, I'm probably going to be using some un-Christian language.

One of the things that athletes teach us is how to strive for something that is (seemingly) unattainable. Even though those football players and I know tomorrow will involve some mistakes, we don't let that stop us from doing our best. We're going to show up. We're going to give it our all. We are going to learn from those mistakes and continue to become better as we aim for perfection.

Literally ANYTHING can happen.

I don't understand people who don't believe in miracles. Miracles happen in sports all the time.

One of my personal favorites was the White Out game of last year (2016). We were playing our rivals, Ohio State, who were ranked #2. We weren't ranked. We were really far away from being ranked.

Overall, my team was having a rough year and this game wasn't supposed to be any better. The last four times Ohio played Penn State, they won. They were expected to win this game as well. Not just win -- they were expected to destroy us. My friend, who was an Ohio State graduate, didn't even want to watch the game because he thought it would be boring. We were facing a David/Goliath situation.

I have an app that keeps track of the likelihood of a team winning a game. For most of the game, it had Ohio at an 80% or higher chance of winning. Then, this moment happened:

We went on to win the game. I cried. It became a turning point for the season, and Penn State went on to win the Big Ten Championship.

Things like this happen ALL THE TIME in our Faith life. I've heard countless testimonies of people who were considered losers having one moment, one encounter with Jesus Christ, that turned their whole lives around. God is constantly turning things upside down -- the lame, walk! The blind, see! That fisherman become the first Pope! That murdered writes like half the New Testament! The possibilities are endless!

We have no idea what God is going to do with our lives. That same joyful anticipation that we walk into a sports event should also be with us as we walk through life. You never know -- at any moment, something could be a game changer. We always have hope.

While sometimes we fail…

One of the reasons that win was so sweet is because the losses before it were so bitter (recall the 49-10 Michigan score I mentioned earlier). Sometimes life lets us down. Whether it's our own personal sin, someone else's sin, or just tragedies where there's really no person to blame -- we're going to face hard times.

What every athlete knows is that even their worst games will come to an end, and another game will begin. Athletes also show us that, even after our worst failures, our fans (think the Angels, Saints, God Himself!) aren't going to abandon us.

…THE VICTORY IS AWESOME!

I bet Heaven feels a lot like how Indianapolis felt after Penn State won the last White Out Game. You see, Indy is full Chicago Cubs fan, and that night happened to also be the winning game that sent the Cubs to the World Series for the first time since 1945 (they would go on to win the World Series for the first time since 1908).

It didn't matter that we had been cheering for other teams -- the battle had been fought and the victory had been won. The celebration was electrifying. We joyfully sang and cheered. We congratulated one another. I hugged a lot of strangers that night.

When I think back on it, I'm reminded of Luke 15:7 "There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance." There's no such thing as a lost cause. Jesus is fighting for each one of us and when there is a win, the celebration in heaven is AWESOME.

As I reflect on football and Faith, I'm reminded that Jesus is more. Sports are great! While a victory over Michigan tomorrow would be ABSOLUTELY AWESOME, you're still going to find me joyful on Sunday even if Penn State loses. Why? Because I know that Jesus's victory over death and sin is profoundly greater than any other victory I'll ever experience. So, win or lose, I'll be celebrating at Holy Mass on Sunday morning, and with all my teens on Sunday night.

However, I'll still take your prayers for a Penn State win. (You listening, St. Sebastian?)

N Seattle Catholic Youth sends out saints who are deeply in love with Jesus Christ to live as His disciples.